On the Today Show this morning, House Speaker John Boehner (OH-08) falsely claimed that House Republicans were focused on addressing the national debt and said that the rising debt would be “imprisoning the future for our kids.”

In reality, even Paul Ryan admitted that the House Republican budget increases the debt $8 trillion in the next 10 years. Instead of cutting the debt, House Republicans voted to end Medicare and protect spending on taxpayer giveaways for Big Oil companies. The New York Times said, “The deficit is a serious problem, but the [House Republican budget] is not a serious answer.”

FACT CHECK

Ryan Admitted Plan Added $8 Trillion to Debt . According to an initial analysis by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO), they found that by the end of the 10 year budget window, public debt would actually be higher. CBO projected under current law the debt would balloon to 67 percent of GDP by 2022; “under Ryan’s plan, the CBO expects it to rise to 70 percent.” Ryan had to reassure conservatives “disappointed that his plan still adds $8 trillion in debt while failing to balance the budget for at least two decades.” [Congressional Budget Office, 4/5/11; The Atlantic, 4/6/11; The Hill, 4/5/11]

EDITORIAL: GOP Budget isn’t a “Serious Answer” to the Deficit Problem. “The deficit is a serious problem, but the Ryan plan is not a serious answer.” [New York Times Editorial, 4/6/11]

House Republicans Voted to End Medicare. The Wall Street Journal wrote, “The plan would essentially end Medicare, which now pays most of the health-care bills for 48 million elderly and disabled Americans, as a program that directly pays those bills.” [H Con. Res. 34, Vote #277, 4/15/11; Wall Street Journal, 4/4/11]